British Pound slumps against US Dollar as risky assets turn fragile
- The British Pound declines to near 1.3340 against the US Dollar amid risk-off market sentiment.
- US President Trump says that the MoU with Iran is over.
- Investors await the FOMC Minutes of the June policy meeting.
The British Pound (GBP) is down 0.13% to near 1.3340 against the US Dollar (USD) during the European trading session on Wednesday. The GBP/USD pair faces selling pressure as renewed geopolitical risks have diminished the appeal of riskier assets.
At press time, S&P 500 futures are down almost 1% to near 7,430, demonstrating a risk-off market mood. The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the Greenback’s value against six major currencies, trades marginally higher to near 101.15 after recovering early losses.
Risks of the restart of the Middle East war have forced investors to shift to the safe-haven fleet. In the European trade, United States (US) President Donald Trump said that the “memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Iran is over”, adding that he doesn’t want to deal with them.
This came as Tehran continues to prove its authority over the Strait of Hormuz, a critical chokepoint to almost 20% of the global energy supply, with aggression. On Tuesday, Tehran struck commercial ships passing through the chokepoint, stating that were crossing the passage without approval.
Meanwhile, investors await the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) Minutes of the June policy meeting, which will be published at 18:00 GMT. Investors will pay close attention to FOMC minutes to get cues regarding why Fed officials decided to abandon forward guidance.
US Dollar FAQs
The US Dollar (USD) is the official currency of the United States of America, and the ‘de facto’ currency of a significant number of other countries where it is found in circulation alongside local notes. It is the most heavily traded currency in the world, accounting for over 88% of all global foreign exchange turnover, or an average of $6.6 trillion in transactions per day, according to data from 2022. Following the second world war, the USD took over from the British Pound as the world’s reserve currency. For most of its history, the US Dollar was backed by Gold, until the Bretton Woods Agreement in 1971 when the Gold Standard went away.
The most important single factor impacting on the value of the US Dollar is monetary policy, which is shaped by the Federal Reserve (Fed). The Fed has two mandates: to achieve price stability (control inflation) and foster full employment. Its primary tool to achieve these two goals is by adjusting interest rates. When prices are rising too quickly and inflation is above the Fed’s 2% target, the Fed will raise rates, which helps the USD value. When inflation falls below 2% or the Unemployment Rate is too high, the Fed may lower interest rates, which weighs on the Greenback.
In extreme situations, the Federal Reserve can also print more Dollars and enact quantitative easing (QE). QE is the process by which the Fed substantially increases the flow of credit in a stuck financial system. It is a non-standard policy measure used when credit has dried up because banks will not lend to each other (out of the fear of counterparty default). It is a last resort when simply lowering interest rates is unlikely to achieve the necessary result. It was the Fed’s weapon of choice to combat the credit crunch that occurred during the Great Financial Crisis in 2008. It involves the Fed printing more Dollars and using them to buy US government bonds predominantly from financial institutions. QE usually leads to a weaker US Dollar.
Quantitative tightening (QT) is the reverse process whereby the Federal Reserve stops buying bonds from financial institutions and does not reinvest the principal from the bonds it holds maturing in new purchases. It is usually positive for the US Dollar.
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